The Oral Health Alert: Focus on Head Start is a monthly
newsletter that provides timely information about national campaigns
and initiatives, materials, and journal articles. Past issues are available at http://www.mchoralhealth.org/alert/archives.html
July 2009
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1. Healthy Children Ready for School: The Impact of First
5 in California's Northwest Region
This report examines the impacts of First 5, an early childhood
initiative in California, within 10 northern counties in the northwest
region. Contents include descriptions of the program and the region and
of improvements in the areas of child health, child development, family
functioning, systems of care, and fiscal accountability.
Social Entrepreneurs. 2009. El Cerrito, CA: First 5 Association of
California. Available at http://www.f5ac.org/item.asp?id=4107
(executive summary, 4 pp.); http://www.f5ac.org/item.asp?id=4108
(report, 43 pp.).
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2. Healthy Smiles Through Child Care Consultation: A
Distance Learning Course
This training course is designed to help child care consultants assist
child care facilities in improving their oral health practices and
policies. Topics include tooth development, oral diseases, prevention,
access to care, oral health promotion, and children with special health
care needs. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants. 2007.
Chapel Hill, NC: National Training Institute for Child Care Health
Consultants. Available at http://nti.unc.edu/healthy_smiles/index.html.
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3. Beyond the dmft: The Human and Economic Cost of Early
Childhood Caries
This article reviews evidence on the consequences of symptomatic early
childhood caries (ECC). Topics include mortality associated with dental
caries and dental intervention; hospital admissions, emergency
department care, and use of general anesthetics; ECC, child
development, and well-being; and the effects of ECC on families,
communities, and heath care systems.
Casamassimo PS, Thikkurissy S, Edelstein BL, Maiorini E. 2009. Journal
of the American Dental Association 140(6):650-657. Abstract available
at http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/short/140/6/650.
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4. Chairside Diet Assessment of Caries Risk
This article describes a tool to help oral health professionals
identify dietary behaviors that affect dental caries risk and provide
clients and their families with anticipatory guidance on dietary habits.
Marshall TA. 2009. Journal of the American Dental Association
140(6):670-674. Abstract available at http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/abstract/140/6/670.
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5. A
Survey of North Carolina Safety-Net Dental Clinics' Methods for
Communicating with Patients of Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
This study assessed communication methods for individuals with limited
English proficiency (LEP) seeking care in public health dental clinics
in North Carolina. The authors found that there is a large population
of individuals with LEP attending these clinics, and clinic staff feel
challenged in providing care to these clients. Barriers to providing
adequate language services included availability of trained
interpreters, cost, time for provider, and time for client.
Hammersmith KJ, Lee JY. 2009. Journal of Public Health Dentistry
69(2):90-94. Abstract available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121536602/abstract.
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